This Game is nicknamed in New Zealand rugby history 'The Water Polo test.' Here you can see why!

Onto the field they come for the 'Water Polo' test; New Zealand v Scotland in Auckland 1975.

17 December 2014

What a day this was. Look at the water! It had rained so hard overnight at Eden Park the Auckland Rugby Union phoned the local radio station 1ZB and said to the public - 'even if you've got tickets - don't come.' They added, ' - the streets are flooded, the car parks are under water and the 48-hour rainstorm is not scheduled to stop!' But 45,000 fans said - No way!' They wanted to see the All Blacks play (maybe because New Zealand was wearing white jerseys?). The game went ahead and the All Blacks scored 4 converted tries for a 24-0 win. Scotland were lucky to get zero! Afterwards the All Black prop Billy Bush said with relief, 'thank goodness the referee (Peter McDavitt of Wellington) blew up any collapsed scrums quickly - someone could have drowned!' Never a truer word spoken! (Scroll down here - and on other pages here - for more of my favourite rugby photographs)

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Every day there is Rugby History 22 May 1987

Click to show The first Rugby World Cup kicks off in New Zealand

And on a damp Friday the ABs passed 50 points in a test for the first time; they beat Italy 70-6 with John Kirwan running 75 metres to score, untouched.

A-Z of Rugby

Click to show CALCUTTA CUP

CALCUTTA CUP
The only trophy for competition between two of the Five Nation teams, the Calcutta Cup is played for between England and Scotland.

The trophy originated in India where the Calcutta Football Club, started by some former pupils of Rugby School in England, found itself facing recession after only four years of existence. Rugby was not suited for the summer-like conditions of India.
The club had only modest resources, but as a closing-down gesture, rather than spend their remaining monies on a dinner or a ball, the members withdrew their remaining rupees from the bank and had them melted down. The silver was worked by the finest of Indian workmanship and shaped into a handsome trophy with three distinctive handles shaped like cobras and an elephant mounted on its lid.

The Calcutta Cup was presented to the Rugby Football Union in London in 1878 for competition between England and Scotland. Since then (with the exception of the war years) it has been a much-prized trophy in the annual Five (and now Six) Nations match.

There is an anomaly in the recording of annual results on the base of the cup. It was first played for in 1879 yet the results of England v Scotland matches from 1871 to 1878 are etched into the plinth of the trophy, years before the trophy came into being!
The original Calcutta Cup is now seldom seen in public. Whether the annual game is held at Twickenham or at Murrayfield the original is stored, for security reasons, in a safe vault. In its histroy the Cup has often been the subject of mistreatment by the players of the day. It is often a full-size replica of the cup which is kept for display at both grounds.

(With thanks to John Mcl. Davidson – Honorary Historian Scottish Rugby Union)